100 Miles

Checked off another goal of mine this past weekend.  I biked 100 miles on Saturday with Kelly and Andy.  As Kelly's unofficial training partner for her Ironman (which is in 4 weeks...ahh!), I made a 100-miler a goal at the beginning of the summer.  

Back in June, when Kelly & I did the Tour de Cure, I thought Sharon (our spinning instructor/friend) was crazy to do 100 miles around the track (truth be told, I still think she's crazy for doing it around and around a track....I'd go crazy!)....but a small part inside of me wanted to see if I could do it, too.  So while making my Summer Check List, I added it to the list of fun things to do.  


And I did it!

I could lie, and say that it was a cake walk.  

But hell, 100 miles in one day is NO JOKE!  At about the 70 mile marker, I was wondering how in the hell I was going to finish it.  But I knew at that point that it was purely a mental thing.  I knew I had the strength and I definitely knew I had the willpower to do it, so I wasn't going to stop!


Kelly sweats profusely, where she loses an INSANE amount of salt.  (Like, INSANE.  Her black cycling shorts turn white with salt. No joke.)  And even though she took multiple salt tablets throughout the course of the ride, she kept cramping up.  So she had to stop around the 90 mile marker.  Andy turned to me and said, "Chris, what do you want to do?"  

My reply?  

"If I'm going to do this, I'm going to DO this."  I hadn't cycled for 6 hours, just to cut it 10 miles short.  So, even though our speed went dramatically down, we pushed through the last 10 miles and completed ONE HUNDRED FREAKING MILES!

Screen shot of our course. Started at 52nd St, and went all the way up to Tipton. Then we went back down to about 16th St to get the last 10 miles in. 

Fixing Andy's flat tire. First experience with a flat. Thank God for Kelly's expertise!

Always a team, dressed in red, Team Swickheimer DID IT!

Knot's Landing

Emma and Drew got some new shoes yesterday. And naturally they had to try them on immediately to see how much faster they are with them on.

So Emma's running one way, and Drew's running another.

You know what happens next, right?..........
 

NKOTBSB

I fulfilled my 12-year old fantasy last night.  I saw the New Kids On The Block.  Sorry, NKOTB. 

And it was AMAZEBALLS.  They combined their tour with the Backstreet Boys, hence KNOTBSB.

Did I mention that it was AMAZEBALLS?!? 

Say it together with me now.  N - K - O - T - B - S - B.

That's right.

N - K - O - T - B - S - B

Party-Goers!

Sarah and I, friends since (technically) 1986. 

Nick Carter (BSB) walked right down our aisle. Sarah touched him. She's in love. 

He's really tall, and yeah. OK. He's hot, too. 

Finale: Hangin' Tough. These guys were AWESOME. I mean, I don't know very many 38 - 45 year olds that can BRING IT (and have washboard abs) like they did! 



Busy, Busy, Busy

What a fantastic weekend! My planned 3-day weekend (thanks to Flex Fridays!) actually turned into a nice, long, family/friend/fitness 4-day weekend! Our sitter had to take a sick day and it was my turn to stay home with the kids, so I had such a fun time!!! We jam-packed so much into the weekend, that I think I'll break apart all our activities below.

Summer Fun

After our tri, Andy & I headed to the Kiovsky's again for some lake fun. Emma (and Andy!) enjoys jumping off the dock, doing cannonballs and Drewbie enjoys playing in the sandbar and floating with mom & dad on different flotation devices. I absolutely LOVE lake living. I only wish we lived on a lake, where we could hop out into the water whenever we desired.

Later that evening, we went over to the Youtsey's to enjoy a little cookout. The kids have a ball, playing on the slip and slide and running around just being kids. One of the major highlights included the leaf-bug-thingy they found. They carried it around and got a kick out of Jon holding it, allowing it to crawl up his arm. Ewww.

 

All the kids (minus Drew): Anna (5), Hannah (3), Jack (5), Ella (7), Emma (4)

Checking out the leaf bug thing. 

Lake Time

On Friday, I started off my day with an early morning dip in the Morse Reservoir. My first sprint triathlon was the following day and I had yet to swim in open water. Yikes, right? Well, fear not my friends. As usual my BFF Kelly came to the rescue, offering up her parent's house for the morning for me to get a swim in.

So while she followed me in the kayak, I went out for my first 500 meter swim.

And Hole. Lee. Hell. I'm SOOOO glad I did this, otherwise I would have been overwhelmed at the distance in the open water. Not that it's a long distance by any means, but the fact that it's in open water, where you can't just put your feet down to catch your breath. That's the trickiest thing with the swimming portion of a tri: you have to get your breathing down, and not freak out when water gets in your mouth. Or when you start to choke up a bit. Or when you get water in up your nose. Or when your goggles fog up a bit.

But I survived. I also learned that I don't know who to freestyle worth a darn, so that's definitely something I'll be working on in the next month.

Before my next one!

But I digress. After my swimming lesson/practice, I met Andy at his work's parking lot to pick the kids up (did I mention that I started my morning off with an early MORNING dip? Yeah, at 6:30 in the a.m.) then headed back over to do some more swimming with the kids. With them being the fishies that they are, they loved this last-minute activity that I decided to do! So while we only got to swim for an hour or so this time, I'm hoping we'll be making some more guest appearances at the Kiovsky Lake House this summer!

 

Nothings cuter than a baby's bottom.

Drew got a kick out of Harper's stub-of-a-tail. He thought it was the funniest, most fascinating thing! 



My First Sprint Triathlon

I'm still coming off a high from my first Sprint Triathlon!

And while I know I have much room for improvement, I am absolutely IN LOVE with them.

I love the nervous adrenaline that you get just before you're about to start. I love the "Holy $hit" feeling that you get when you start to question yourself (for a few minutes). But then you jump right out of that thought and think, "Holy $hit. I'm awesome. I'm doing something that most only WISH they can do!" I love the tears that form when you're about to cross the finish line. I love the moments afterward, when you're wondering when the next one is. And I love the fact that I'm doing it with my husband.

I love it.

We did it! Andy's 2nd and my 1st.

Almost to the finish line. 

1st transition to the bike. 



Wardrobe Expansion

When you're not feeling 100%, it's totally acceptable to venture into the hubby's closet, right?

Right?

Good. Cause that's exactly what I did this morning.

I knew when I got home from work last night that today was going to be a leggings kind of day. I'm fighting a sore throat and fever, so putting together a cute ensemble was not in the cards. Buuuut one can never look thrown together now can we?!? Soooooo......here's my wardrobe-expansion-slash-I'm-not-feeling-like-spending-more-than-5-minutes-getting-ready outfit.
 
Thanks for the inspiration, Boo.
 

Yes, this picture was taken at work. And yes, I brought my phone into the bathroom with me.

My Fishies

Emma and Drew have become quite the swimmers this summer. Emma's been a fish from the beginning but her skills have improved dramatically this summer. We joined the K of C pool, so we literally go there almost every day. Emma, being the overly independent soul that she is, likes to go to the deep end by herself to work on her diving skills and go down the slide. She can swim from one side of the pool to the other, doing a combo freestyle/underwater number. I need to get video evidence of it...it's quite impressive I must say.

This past weekend, we worked on the "Pencil Jump." You know?....the one where you jump straight-as-a-board into the water? Her (6-year old) friend taught her and she's got it down now. She's pretty much amazing. If she wants [key word here = wants] to do something, all you have to do is show it, explain it, and then watch her go.

And Drew is FEARLESS in the water. Because of his big sister, he spends his time in the "big" pool so he's had to learn how to hold his own pretty quickly. And he's pretty good too, I must say! The pool starts at 2ft deep, so he hangs out there. We're starting to work on his swimming skills, where I hope to have him full-on swimming by next summer. If he keeps up what he's doing, he'll be there in no time. He already loves to go underwater himself. He goes, "Ready. Set. Go." and dunks his head underwater. I put him in the swimming position and make him put his head under, so he's got an understanding of how it works. I'm motivated by one of Andy's friend's kid. He's 2 1/2, and can swim all by himself. He goes down the slide and swims all the way to the ladder by himself. It's an incredible site to see. A little guy--the size of Drew--going down a huge water slide all by himself, then swimming back to the ladder. It's inspirational!

An Interview With Emma

What is something mom always says to you?  Good job, Emma.

What makes mom happy?  Her favorite song, when she's on the edge of glory.

What makes mom sad?  When we do stuff that's not good.

How does your mom make you laugh?  She puts her legs apart and dances.
[I must interject here. She means to say that I put my knees together and wiggle my butt back and forth in a dancing motion. There's no inappropriateness going on here. Ahh, Emma. Gotta love her!]

What was your mom like as a child?  Like grandma.

How old is your mom?  I don't know.

How tall is your mom?  Really tall. Giant.

What is her favorite thing to do?  Do stuff with me.

What does your mom do when you're not around?  Work. And watch me with her magic eyes.

If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?  What does that mean?

What is your mom really good at?  Making necklaces.

What is your mom not very good at?  Using hot glue guns.

What does your mom do for her job?  Work at the gym.
[Ha! I guess "working out" means that's my job.]

What is your mom's favorite food?  Salad.
[Good answer, Emma. Now if only it were true.]

What makes you proud of your mom?  When mom doesn't burn her finger.

What do you and your mom do together?  We do dance parties.

How are you and your mom the same?  What do you mean? Because Jesus made us that way.
[She doesn't quite understand this question yet.]

How are you and your mom different?  Because Jesus made us that way.

How do you know your mom loves you?  Because I'm smart.

Where is your mom's favorite place to go?  The gym.

Insanity

Oh. My. Lord.

I've gone insane.

I started the "Insanity" workout and let me tell you. This is not for the physically challenged. Or the lazy couch potato. Or the occasional exerciser.
This stuff is serious.

I have never worked out as hard as I did yesterday, in that short amount of time. And I've become pretty rigorous in my cycling schedule, averaging 40 mile rides.

Hole. Lee. Cow. My heart rate didn't drop below Zone 4 for the entire 60 minutes of training. I was basically in Zone 5 the entire time. Zone 5 for me = 180 - 190 bpm. (If these numbers mean nothing to you, that's crazy. For 60 minutes, that's insane.)

But damn, it felt good.

Can't wait to torture myself again today.....

Likes and Gripes, Summer Edition

Likes
Strawberry Shortcakes in the summer
My son's dimple
My daughter's wit
Homemade jewelry
The pool
Sharing a smile with my hubs while watching our babies play
Freshly painted nails
Mowing the lawn. Yes, I LOVE to mow the lawn. Andy and I battle for the job. True story.
Tanned skin
OBX
Long cycling road trips
BBQ's with friends
Juicy fruit
Family bike rides
Fourth of July decorations
Festivals
Flex Fridays
Johnny Cougar blasting on the radio

Gripes
Dehydration
Sweat
Mosquitos
Flat hair
Getting into a hot-box car
Shaving on a daily basis. That's right. I normally don't shave everyday. Get over it.
The Indiana humidity
Ants. Inside the house.
Lack of clothing that people seem to think is appropriate just because it's 90+ degrees outside.
Water bill

Hot Glue Guns Hurt

Turns out, hot glue hurts when you apply it to your skin!

No, I'm not practicing some new fad of "burning" yourself.  Yesterday I was making a Pom Pom necklace and I burned myself not once but TWICE with my hot glue gun.  You'd think I was a novice with the glue gun, but no...I've been using this thing for decades.  (Yes, I started using a hot glue gun at 11. Quick, call CPS on my mom.)

Burn #1. It instantly peeled back the skin on my ring finger. Felt fantastic.

Burn #2. Instantly bubbled up. These two spots actually hurt the worst. 

Did I mention that I was alone with the two kids? 

Yeah, that was fun.  Trying to take care of them with two burning hands out of commission was pleasant.

But it was worth it, don't you think?

Love, love, love it.  I will be making one in (almost) every color.  Plus some headbands!

A Conversation With Emma

So I realized that I haven't logged a new entry of my series, "A Conversation With Emma" in a while.  But believe me, there's been no shortage of "Emma-isms," that's for sure.  The chica is witty.  Too witty, at times.

So this past weekend, girlfriend was really testing my nerves.  I was trying to get out the door, to go on a ride, but of course Missy Lucille had put her attitude on first thing in the morning so she was being super-fun.  And I can't even remember what she was doing, but I said "Emma, don't even THINK about it."

And what did she snap back with?

"Well, I AM thinking about."






*Big gap intentional.  Represents the glare she's giving me and the glare I'm giving right back at her.*

Have I mentioned she's only FOUR.  Lord help me.  Rather, help Andy.  Poor hubs is going to have some severe referring to do in 8 years or so.

4th of July Recipes and "How-To's"

A couple of people expressed interest in the recipes for the deserts I made for the Fourth of July, so I thought I'd post them here.  They are super-simple and kid friendly too!

Revolutionary Strawberries
(from Family Fun magazine)

Ingredients:

• 12 oz white chocolate chips
• Blue sugar/sprinkles or edible glitter
• Strawberries

Instructions:
1) Melt 12 oz white chocolate chips in a microwave for approx. 1 min 15 seconds.
2) One at a time, dip strawberries into the chocolate and then into the blue sprinkles.
3) Set them to harden on waxed paper.
4) Makes approx. 35-45 strawberries.


Flag Cookie Cake

Ingredients:

• 12 oz softened cream cheese
• 3/4 c confectioners sugar
• 4 1/2 tsp lemon juice
• 1 package sugar cookie dough
• Strawberries
• Blueberries

Instructions:
1) In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, confectioners sugar and lemon juice.  Set aside 1/4 cup.
2) Roll out cookie dough in a greased cookie sheet.
3) Spread cream cheese mixture over entire cake.
4) Trace out a rectangle in the upper-left hand corner for the "stars."
5) Place sliced strawberries in a row, making sure to leave space for the "stars."
6) Place blueberries in the rectangular space, leaving small gaps for the white "stars."
7) Use the remaining 1/4 cup cream cheese mixture by placing into a small sandwich bag, cutting off the tip of the bag, and squeezing out a small amount in between the blueberries.


Balloon Flip-Flops
This is a fun and easy-to-do craft project that I found on one of the many craft blogs I read.  Although the one I saw used multi-colored balloons, I thought it would be fun to do red/white/blue flip-flops for Emma.  However I had a hard time finding water balloons in red, white, and blue (I only went to Wal-Mart) so I opted to just do a blue/white combo instead.  I knew her pants were going to be red, so I thought the blue would balance it all out.  Such a thinker, I know!

I started with some plain white flip-flops.  Old Navy is the best.  They have every color under the sun, and the price can't be beat.  2 for $5!

I then placed the blue water balloons on the table, in a pattern where I alternated the openings from left side to right side.  This helps balance out the look of the balloons on the flip-flops.

Next, I just began tying the balloons in a simple knot until it was completely covered.  The process takes a while and my hands began to cramp after a while, but it's still a very simple and kid-friendly project!



Emma loved them, and she just looked too darn cute in her outfit!

4th of July

We had a fantastic Fourth of July weekend! As usual, we were busy, busy, busy with trips to the pool, Papa's cottage house, bike races, craft projects, baking, and of course shopping. And it was especially nice for me because I had a 4 day weekend! (Actually, it's been pretty sweet these past couple of weeks. Vacation was 2 weeks ago, come back to work for 4 days, get 4 days off, then I only have to work 4 days this week.)

On Saturday we went to my dad's river cottage in northern Indiana where our big highlight was tubing down the Tippy. He has a huge (6 or 8 person) raft/intertube that Andy, Emma, and I floated in down the river. Aside from it being a little uncomfortable (it was almost too big for the 3 of us), we had a good time. Emma really enjoyed it. We had her hang on to a rope that was attached to the tube, so she just floated/swam behind it for a while. She did get freaked out a little, though, the few times her feet touched the bottom. The mushy feel of the sand/mud made her a little uneasy. Can't say I blame the girl.

On Sunday, Andy went down to Seymour IN at the Muscatatuck Park to participate in his first mountain bike race while I did a 50-miler with Kelly. I have absolutely NO interest in off roading/mountain biking, but Andy really enjoyed it. He said it was so intense and he can't wait to do some more. And my ride was great; Kelly and I were actually pretty sore by the end of it because we did a hillier ride than normal. But, man I love riding!

On the Fourth we went to pool, where I had to pry my kids from the pool. Both are such water babies, where there swimming skills have just improved dramatically. Emma has always been a swimmer, but this year she's able to jump off the diving board and go down water slides by herself (in deep water). While she can't yet do the true freestyle stroke, she's able to keep herself afloat and do a doggy paddle/freestyle combo. And Drew's fully submerging himself under water now. It's so cute, actually. He'll go, "Ready. Set. Go," then dunk his head underwater, then come up saying "I went under." He's so stinkin' cute!!! In the evening, we went to Matt's house for our annual cookout and firework watching. As usual, the food was delicious. I made a few deserts that I was pretty proud of, including a homemade apple pie that I made all by myself. I've never made a pie before, and it turned out really good! I can't wait to make more!
 
 

Always good to see J.D.'s smiling face!

I gave Emma (and myself) festive Stars & Stripes pedis! 

Here's Emma modeling her pedicure with the balloon flip-flops I made. 

Revolutionary Strawberries I made (while chocolate w/ blue sprinkles). Huge hit with the kids! 

Flag Cookie Cake I made 

Andy the Grill Master. 

Here's our little spread. Such yummy food! 

My madre and me. 

Having fun with the sparklers!

Emma was "too busy" to join us in our family picture.